USL WEEK 5 HIGHLIGHTS

Weekend Wins Move Rochester, Sacramento Ahead of the Pack

With the USL season a little more than a month old, five teams remain undefeated, including four teams in the Eastern Conference. The value of victory is becoming apparent, however, with Rochester and Sacramento claiming the top spots in their respective conferences thanks to solid victories during the fifth weekend of the season.

FEATURED GAMESRochester Rhinos 1, Saint Louis FC 0
The Rochester Rhinos continued their best start since 2012 as second-half substitute Colin Rolfe scored the only goal in front of 5,001 fans at World Wide Technology Park to lift his side to victory. In an open contest both sides had chances, and Rhinos goalkeeper Sean Murdoch made a big point-blank save to keep the game scoreless in his first appearance for the club before Rolfe capitalized on a good pass by Kenardo Forbes. Rolfe fired a low shot into the left corner of the net to move his side top of the Eastern Conference

“We’ve had good minutes off the bench in both of the weekend games. I’m delighted with that and guys being ready to impact the game – it shows we’re a team who has depth.” – Rochester Rhinos coach Bob Lilley following his side’s 1-0 win against Saint Louis FC

Sacramento Republic FC 3, Portland Timbers 2 0Rodrigo Lopez scored his league-leading fifth goal of the season, and also added an assist, as Republic FC extended its winning streak to three games to move three points clear at the top of the Western Conference in front of a record crowd of 11,242 at Bonney Field on Saturday night. Lopez opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a curling finish, and then provided the delivery as Mickey Daly scored from a free kick shortly before halftime. Former Des Moines Menace player Zev Taublieb capped the scoring with eight minutes to go with his first professional goal.

OKC Energy FC 2, Seattle Sounders FC 1Danni König added a late game-winner to an earlier assist as OKC Energy FC rallied to take victory in its home opener at the newly renovated Taft Stadium. In front of 6,797 fans, S2 took the lead as Darwin Jones scored his fourth goal of the season just past the half-hour mark, but OKC leveled the score on König’s header set up Chuy Sanchez in the 38th minute. Energy FC missed a penalty kick in first-half stoppage time, but claimed victory with four minutes to go as König drove home a finish from Casey Townsend’s deflected cross to send the home fans into celebrations.

“Casey put in a good ball and I think someone tried to kick it away but I put it in. For me, I’m a good player in the box and I work hard in the box. I score a lot of my goals in there, it’s something I’m good at.” – OKC Energy FC forward König on his game-winning goal against Seattle Sounders FC 2

Orange County Blues FC 3, Arizona United SC 0Christofer Ramirez scored a pair of goals as Orange County knocked Arizona from the ranks of the undefeated with an impressive victory at Anteater Stadium. Disappointed after falling 2-1 to United in their first game of the season despite holding a 17-4 shot advantage, the Blues earned a second consecutive victory with an impressive attacking display. Ramirez sent home a powerful header to open the scoring in the 33rd minute, and Luka Petricevic added a second four minutes later. Ramirez added his second seven minutes into the second half, as the Blues put together their strongest performance of the season.

BY THE NUMBERS
3 – There have already been three hat tricks recorded in the USL this season, with Richmond’s George Davis IV joining Pittsburgh’s Kevin Kerr and Seattle’s Darwin Jones in achieving the feat. Last season, there were five hat tricks total in the USL.

1 – Louis Beland-Goyette scored the first goal in FC Montreal’s history, but it wasn’t enough to earn the side its first point as the Harrisburg City Islanders took a 2-1 win on Saturday night.

100 – Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2’s Tyler Rosenlund became the second player to make 100 appearances in the USL on Sunday as his side drew 1-1 with Toronto FC II. Richmond’s William Yomby will also reach the landmark with his next appearance for the Kickers, which could come on Wednesday night against New York Red Bulls II.

3 – Bradford Jamieson IV made his first start for the LA Galaxy on Saturday night. 2014 USL Rookie of the Year finalists Jamieson, Tyler Turner (Orlando City SC) and John McCarthy (Philadelphia Union) have all now made their MLS debuts this season.

“It took a while, it took a while to happen, but to play like that and for it to be the first one, I feel awesome. We’ve been talking about it all week, talking about trying to get it from the beginning, but it feels awesome.” – Richmond Kickers goalkeeper Ryan Taylor after recording his first professional shutout in a 3-0 win against the Charlotte Independence

“James gives me the mindset to run at players. In the sequence we scored, he told me to take the outside back and that’s I did and took the shot. It was a relief because we felt we were so unlucky all game. For that to be the first goal I’ve scored in Louisville it just feels amazing.” – Louisville City FC’s Kadeem Dacres on his stoppage-time goal that earned LCFC a 1-1 draw on the road with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds

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Diane Scavuzzo is the Editor in Chief and loves her work, family, and soccer not necessarily in that order. Scavuzzo started covering soccer in 2010 and has published over 6,000 articles on the beautiful game.